


Bandaids

by ceealaina



Series: Baby Durins [1]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Babies, Brothers, Durin Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-31
Updated: 2013-05-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 12:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/824317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceealaina/pseuds/ceealaina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Fili is supposed to take care of his little brother, isn't entirely successful, and Thorin makes everything better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bandaids

**Author's Note:**

> This is just unrepentant baby Fili and Kili fluff. This didn't entirely turn out how I expected, but there you go.

Fili was not pleased at all. He'd had plans for the day, plans which involved playing with his friends. Plans that involved practicing with the wooden sword that Dwalin had given him, which he wasn't supposed to have because his mother said he was too young. These plans did not involve baby sitting his little brother, who was tagging along behind Fili with excitement on his face. Playing with Kili had been the last thing Fili had wanted to do, especially since this meant he could no longer go off with his friends. He had been ready to throw a tantrum of his own, but Dís had insisted, and the look on her face had promised a smack bottom if he argued. 

So now he was trailing along after his brother, watching with half an eye as Kili explored the woods by their home, but mostly pouting to himself over the unfortunate luck of being an older brother. Really, it wasn't fair that he should have to give up his plans just to take care of Kili. Stupid Kili and his stupid legs that were too short, so he couldn't keep up when Fili and his friends went off to play Adventures. 

Huffing to himself, Fili slumped down on a flat rock, folding his arms across his chest and grumbling under his breath and pouting some more. Right now he hated everyone in the world, and he thought he might run away. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more that sounded like a really good idea. He would run away tonight, after Kili was asleep and their mother had gone to bed. Fili was quiet, he could sneak down the stairs without her hearing and leave under the cover of dark (he had heard Uncle Thorin talking about the cover of dark a lot before, and didn't really know what that meant because the dark didn't have a feeling, but that was okay). That way no one would notice he was missing until at least the morning, and by then he would be long gone, and Thorin's lips would go all tight, and his mother would wail and cry and say she would always let him do whatever he wanted if only she had him back, if only she had her darling-

"Fili?"

Fili looked up to see Kili standing in front of him, smiling brightly as he stumbled a little over Fili's name, still unused to forming the words properly in his mouth. He was lugging a piece of wood nearly as big as he was, presenting it proudly to his older brother. 

"Wanna help me build a fort?"

"No," Fili said rather bluntly, ignoring the way the smile slid off Kili's face. 

"Oh," he said softly. "Okay."

He moved to sit on the rock beside Fili, imitating his older brother, but Fili shoved over, not leaving him any room. "Just go play, Kili," he told him, doing his best to sound like their uncle, and like he was much too important to do things like play. 

"But iss no fun without you," Kili protested, frowning a little. Fili didn't answer, steadfastly not looking at his brother, and after a long moment Kili sighed and went back to playing, shoulders slumped as he half heartedly piled his sticks. Fili felt a little guilty - after all, Kili really wasn't all that bad of a little brother, and he could even be a lot of fun sometimes. But then he thought of what his friends were probably doing at that moment, and a dark cloud settled over him again. 

Fili settled back into his daydreams, this time imagining taking on a warg pack while he was off in the wilds. He was so caught up in picturing what Thorin would say when he heard about it, and how proud he would be, and the adoring look that his little brother would have in his eyes that he didn't notice said little brother wandering farther and farther away, humming under his breath as he searched for just the right size branches and rocks. 

Fili looked up suddenly, not knowing how much time had passed, and frowned when he didn't see Kili. "Kili?" he called out, taking in the abandoned fort, which was little more than some poorly piled sticks. "Kee?"

There was no answer and Fili cursed under his breath, words he wasn't supposed to know, as he wondered why his brother couldn't just do what he was supposed to. Fili got to his feet, moving around the edge of the clearing and looking for some sign of his brother. 

"Kee?" he called, moving further away. "Kee?!" The slightest hint of panic started to slip into his voice now when there was still no trace of Kili. "Kee, where are you?"

He couldn't find any trace of him, and fear started to settle heavy in the pit of his stomach as he thought of anything that could have befallen his baby brother. He couldn't forget the image of Kili's crestfallen face when he wouldn't help him build his fort, and he didn't know why he hadn't just played with his little brother. None of this was his fault, and forts were fun, especially when he got to show Kili the best way to build them, and Kili looked at him like he thought his big brother could do anything. Fili felt tears prick his own eyes as he thought of his little brother, lost and frightened among the trees, wondering where Fili was, and why he hadn't come to find him. Fili picked up his pace, his calls of Kili's name growing more and more frantic as he received no response. In between shouts of Kili's name, he swore to Mahal that he would never misbehave, that he would do anything asked of him, do anything at all, so long as he found his little brother, safe and sound.

It felt like hours of looking, but was probably only about ten minutes before he heard a plaintive cry of, "Fee?"

"Kili?" He screamed in return, relief evident in his voice. 

"Fee!" Kili hollered back, high pitched voice carrying through the trees, and Fili followed the sound until he found Kili. He had climbed up a rock face, and was now crouched on a particularly large boulder, knees clutched to his chest. "Fee!" he screamed frantically when he spotted his brother. "Fee! Help!"

Fili felt relief flood through his body, so strongly that he couldn't help but start to laugh. "What are you doing up there?" he called, trying to sort out the best way to reach his brother. 

Kili sniffled a little, frowning when Fili laughed at him. "I saw a bunny," he told him, "and I wanted to pet it but then it ran away, and I was so high, and the rocks keep moving and I can't get down."

He sounded close to tears, and Fili stopped laughing. "Hey, it's okay," he assured him. He started to climb up the rocks and then stopped, frowning when the smaller rocks crumbled and gave way beneath him. "Kili, I don't think I can climb up there," he told him. "You're going to have to climb down yourself."

Kili shook his head frantically, hair flying out wildly. "Fee, I can't," he whined, voice shaking with how scared he was. "I'll fall!"

"No," Fili told him. "No, Kili, you won't."

Kili blinked down at him, peeking at his brother over the tops of his knees. "Fee, I'm scared."

"I know," Fili told him. "But I'm right here. You can do this. Just climb onto that rock beside you, yeah?" 

Kili shook his head again, hiding his face back in his knees, and Fili wrung his hands nervously. 

"Please Kili? For me? You can do it. Just pretend like you're Uncle Thorin. He'll be so proud when he hears how brave you are."

Kili finally nodded and slowly uncurled himself from the position he had settled into. With shaking hands and Fili's encouragement, he moved to the rocks he was told to, following the path that Fili laid for him, and whimpering when the occasional pebble would shoot free beneath his feet. 

"That's it Kili," Fili encouraged, pacing as he watched his brother's descent. "You're doing so good. You're nearly at the bottom."

Kili looked up at that, looking over his shoulder to see that Fili was right. He gave him a thrilled, shaky little smile, and then promptly screamed as the rocks beneath his feet gave way, the sound shrill and terrified in the forest. 

"Kili!" Fili yelled, racing over to where his brother had landed. For a minute there was stunned silence, and then Kili started to wail, the sound bouncing off the trees. Vaguely relieved that at least his brother was conscious, Fili helped him sit up, doing his best to look him over, though that was made difficult when Kili immediately wrapped his arms around Fili's neck, clinging to him tightly and burying his face in his neck. 

Eventually Fili managed to pull Kili back enough to look him over and satisfy himself that he had nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises, and then he hugged Kili tight, reassuring himself that he was okay. Kili just clung harder, pudgy little fingers clutching to Fili's collar as he hiccoughed into his neck. Fili did his best to soothe him, running his hand over Kili's back the way their mother did, and whispering against his head until Kili started to calm down a little, still sniffling as he curled into his brother. 

"Hey," Fili said. "Are you okay?"

"No," Kili grumbled, though he sounded more petulant now. He sat back enough to hold out his hand for Fili's inspection. "I'm hurted, Fee."

Fili inspected the injury carefully, but there was nothing he could really do for it, so he decided on the next best thing. "Come on," he told Kili, getting to his feet and picking up his brother, even though his was getting quite heavy. "I know who can take care of that."

Fili carried Kili all the way to their uncle's forge, Kili rambling the entire away, feeling much better now that he was getting the attention he had wanted. Kili's sniffles had more or less subsided by the time Fili had carried him to the forge, stopping partway to shift him so he was carrying Kili piggyback instead. He ignored the fond smiles they received from the other dwarves, everyone recognizing the heirs, and didn't stop until he was stepping into the hot building, the clang of metal on metal ringing in his ears. 

Thorin looked up at their arrival, immediately setting aside his work as a fond smile crossed his lips at the sight of his nephews. 

"Well," he said, causing Dwalin in the back to pause in his work as well. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Uncle!" Kili cried, squirming for Fili to put him down. The second he was clear of his older brother, he took off at a run for Thorin, his uncle easily catching and lifting him. "I hurted myself, Uncle!"

He shoved his hand in Thorin's face, and Thorin blinked as he tried to focus. "So I see," he said. He adjusted Kili in his arms, carrying him over to the nearby table. He cleared it off with one arm, nodding over at Dwalin as he set Kili down. "Let's get you cleaned up a bit then, shall we? Before your mother sees you like this and faints dead away." 

Kili giggled at the thought of his mother fainting, but Fili swallowed hard, stepping bravely forward. "I'm sorry Uncle Thorin," he said, not quite meeting his uncle's eyes. "It was my fault. I wasn't watching Kili the way I should."

Thorin arched an eyebrow at him, and across the room Dwalin stifled a noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. Before either up them could speak, however, Kili was shaking his head vehemently. "Nuh uh!" he insisted. "Fili saved my life! He came to rescue me, and he helped me down, and he gave me hugs like ma does when i'm hurted and he carried me alllll the way here cause my leg's broke." He stretched said leg out, pointing to the scrapes on his knee. "See?" 

Dwalin did chuckle now as he came over with clean, damp rags for Kili. "Well," he said, passing them to Thorin and rifling Fili's hair. "It sounds as though our lad here is quite the hero." 

Fili wanted to protest, but Kili was nodding in cheerful agreement, weaving a long tale of all the adventures he'd had on the giant mountain, the story getting more and more exaggerated as he went. They all knew by now that there was no point in stopping Kili once he got started, and Fili managed a grin as he helped Thorin clean Kili up, bandaging up the worst of the cuts, which Kili had all but forgotten about. 

By the time they got Kili all cleaned up, the sun was sliding into the west, and Dwalin's stomach was rumbling loudly. "Come on, your highness," he said, scooping the giggling Kili up. "Let's get you home to your mother then." Dwalin carried Kili out of the forge, the younger prince shrieking with laughter, and grinning Thorin started to follow but stopped when he saw Fili hesitating, kicking his feet against the floor as he lingered behind them. 

"Are you not joining us for dinner tonight?" he asked, and Fili blinked up at him nervously. 

"I thought I might help clean up here," he mumbled, and Thorin arched a brow at him before dropping down to Fili's level. 

"There is no need for you to punish yourself for what happened today, Fili." 

"But… It was my fault," Fili protested, swiping angrily at his eyes as he tried to stop the tears that threatened to spill over. "I wasn't paying attention. I was just annoyed he had to come with me. He could've been really really hurt. He could have…" He choked a little on the thought. "He could have been really hurt, and the last thing I would have said was that I didn't want to play with him." He gasped a little as the tears finally spilled over, choking his throat, and then Thorin's strong arms were wrapping around him, and even though Fili knew he didn't deserve it, he burrowed into that warm, familiar embrace. Thorin just held him close as all his guilt and fear spilled out, Fili clutching at his uncle. 

"There now," Thorin said when Fili had calmed down again. He pulled back, smoothing down Fili's mussed up hair. "I think you've punished yourself quite enough, yes?" 

Fili nodded, still sniffling a little, and Thorin kissed the top of his head. 

"We all make mistakes, Fili. What's important is that we learn from them. And I trust you will always look after your brother from now on?" 

Fili stared up at him with wide eyes, nodding solemnly. "Always," he said seriously, and Thorin gave him a smile. 

"Then I think your lesson is well learned." He straightened again, leading Fili toward the door with a hand firm on his back. "Which I think means a well deserved supper."

Fili nodded again, managing a small giggle as Thorin's stomach rumbled almost as loudly as Dwalin's and they headed off for the home, Fili holding tightly to his uncle's hand.


End file.
